


She Way Out [The Maze Runner Fanfiction]

by martingarrix



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: F/M, Sanza Paige, The Maze Runner - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 22:50:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5023618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martingarrix/pseuds/martingarrix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I'd like to say you've changed but you're always the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. note

If you haven’t read the Maze Runner series and/or seen the movie yet, then I advise you not to read this, otherwise you’ll be as clueless as Alby when he first arrived in the Glade.

 _Sanza_ is a very confusing character but things will be cleared up as the story and the series progress. I hope you won’t get too lost. Comment questions or ask me for explanations (: 

I am also writing another book based on the Scorch Trials movie and it will be posted soon.

And yes, this will be a Newt fic although their affection will progress gradually. This isn’t one of those stories that go ‘ _I woke up in the box and had no memory of who I was_ ’. 

This is truly different.

All credit goes to James Dashner. All I own is Sanza and a few plot twists here and there.

Yeah, I guess that’s it. Um, enjoy?


	2. p r o l o g u e

“You understand why you have to do this, right?”

I wanted to say.

I understood nothing. Absolutely nothing. None of this made sense to me. But then again, it doesn’t matter what I thought about their tests. I’m just the extra variable they needed because some—possibly flare infected—psychologists decided it. Decided my fate. And besides, they were becoming… _desperate_. And I wouldn’t want to be the reason for the downfall of humanity. At least they were trying to save it.

 I realized I haven’t replied and I nodded my head.

“I’m sorry you had to do this, Sanza.” She sighed and shook her head. “I really am.”

And in that moment I was hit with a pang of guilt. I regretted being distant to her these past few weeks. I know she needed to do this. Life comes with sacrifice, even if it would be your own daughter.

“Mum, don’t cry.” I reached out towards her. “This’ll be over soon, you’ll have the information you need for the cure and then we’ll be together again. Don’t worry.”

Those were all lies. But then again, I guess living with WICKED all your life rubs off on you. Lying was as easy as breathing for them, and I picked up a few tricks along the way.

She took a deep breath. “You’re right.” She gave me a pained smile. “I’m sorry. It’s just hard to see you go.”

“Come on.” I laughed. “You’re saying that as if you’ll never see me again.”

And I may never will; only time can tell.

“Mom?”

“Yes, Sanza?”

I looked up and met her stare pleadingly. “Make _Thomas_ remember.”

“Sanza—”

 “He needs to remember. He needs to trust me.” I stopped her from protesting. “Then the others will follow his lead.”

She pursed her red lips, looking away from me and thinking deeply. She then cleared her throat. “Very well, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you.” I involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

I wanted to hug her but the tension was thick in the air and a brick wall of emotions, secrets and unsaid words were dividing us from doing so. I looked into her pain filled eyes and saw myself; scared, anxious and lost.

“It’s time to get in the Box, Sanza.” She subtly wiped her eyes and looked at the door.

I jumped off the gurney I was sitting on and dusted myself off, mentally preparing myself for what was about to come. I took one deep breath before advancing to the door. It opened and I was led to a circular white room with the Box right in the middle of it, a tunnel was above it, leading to the Glade and my fate. As I entered, four doctors did as well, who I suspected were responsible for sending me to the Maze. I sent them an inconspicuous glare. They should burn in hell for what they did to the kids in the Glade and what they’re about to do to me.

Their faces showed no remorse whatsoever as I lowered myself into the Box. It looked old and gritty compared to the white room I was currently in. I stood with my head up as my own mother joins the line of doctors.

“The first thing you’re instructed to do after you’ve arrived and settled your disoriented mind is to  _run_.” A doctor handed her a clipboard. “Run straight into the Maze.” She read from it. “You know what to do after that.”

I nodded in understanding, ignoring the itch to ask why.

“Sanza, you have to make sure you’ll be able to do this task properly because there aren’t any second chances or redoes.” A doctor with half of his face hidden behind a surgical mask spoke. “And since we can’t have control over you as our variable, this is the only thing we ask of you now.”

“I will, doctor.” I said affirmatively. He nodded in response.

It was actually nice seeing these scientists, doctors, psychologists and whatever else they were bite their nails figuratively in anticipation because they had no control of the situation. They had no control over me. It made me feel like I was in power. That’s also why I had to be extremely careful of my actions and responses because thousands of sane people’s minds were in my hands and they were dwindling by the minute. They thought that this was the perfect time to send me up. Everything was so close to falling apart and so was Thomas to finding a way out.

“Goodbye, Sanza.”

Two metal grill doors closed from above me, sealing me inside the Box. It was then that a wave of nausea hit me. This was it. I closed my eyes as I heard the engines start to warm up for my ascent. The sounds became louder by the second.

_“WICKED is good.”_

Those were the last words I heard before the Box shot up the tunnel unexpectedly, the force sending me to the bottom of the Box. The rattling of chains and the mechanical sound of engines filled the enclosed tight space, leaving my chest heaving as the Box kept going up. It was uncomfortable and I honestly wanted to cry, to beg for WICKED to take me back but I held it in and sucked it up. I had to be strong. WICKED could’ve easily chosen any other teenager from the hundreds of safe cities left all around the world but for some reason they chose me. And besides, I’ll be seeing Thomas again. I guess that’s a bit of consolation.

I took a deep, shaky breath to calm all my nerves. I got the feeling that it wasn’t going to help. Just in time, the lights glowed from red to green and a siren blared, signaling I had arrived. I scrambled towards the corner of the Box and pulled my feet against my chest, hoping to look as vulnerable as possible.

I could hear faint masculine voices above me. They were taking an awfully long time in opening the Box. I was tempted to do it myself when the doors finally swung open in a mix of screeching metal. Silence flooded the atmosphere and I held my breath as someone jumped down from above.

“It’s another girl.”


	3. o n e

“It’s another girl.”  
“A girl?!”  
“What does she look like?”  
“We’re shucked for sure.”  
“Is she alive?”  
“What the shuck is going on?”  
“Slim it, slinthead. You know damn well what’s going on.”  
I slowly raised my head. The expected subject stood over me. Gally was standing there, just looking at me like he was afraid to go any closer. He eventually realized that doing so would amount to nothing and he took a step closer.  
“Ya alright there, Gally?” I heard someone ask from above.  
“Yeah, just hold on a second.” He dismissed and bent down to my level. “C’mon, Greenie.”  
I unfolded my arms and uncoiled my body from my previous position. I chose to say nothing as I slowly stood up. Gally was watching me intently, like I was going to turn into a Griever and bite his head off at any second. The chatter from above ceased for a moment and I found my head spinning to adjust to the situation. Gally hoisted me up as arms grabbed me from above, lifting me out of the Box and into the Glade. I landed with a thud on the dirt but I didn’t mind.  
The Gladers crowded around me like I was a science experiment or something. They were all wary while looking down at me. I stood up and wobbled as I tried to escape the circle of boys they’ve put me in. Thankfully, the made way for me and I was able to get a clearer view of the Glade. My breath got temporarily knocked out of my lungs.  
I was inside the Glade.  
It was such a contrast to what I’ve been seeing through screens these past few weeks. A dramatic change that was sure to confuse the hell out of me later but for now, I had something to do. I scanned the area for the nearest Maze door. I spotted one along the East side, near where we were and I mentally prepared myself again. Since the Gladers were too busy talking about what to do with me, I took this as my queue and ran for it. They noticed me but I guess this was common for Greenies, so they kept their eyes on me but did nothing to stop me. Maybe they were expecting me to face plant like Thomas did but I sure as hell wasn’t going to.  
I was three feet from the doors when I was suddenly knocked to the ground as somebody straddled me and pinned both of my hands down, restraining me from any upper body movement.  
“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?!” He screamed in my face.  
“Let go of me!” I struggled against him. “I want out!”  
I didn’t understand how he was able to pin me down so easily, he had a small build but he was tall and he didn’t look a day over fifteen. Of course I knew that he was really around seventeen. His eyes held enduring maturity that made you think twice about his age.  
I guess looks can deceive.  
“No,” he said, increasing his grip. “You’re not doing yourself any good if you keep this up, ya know.”  
I stopped struggling and looked into his brown eyes. It was Newt. He sensed my surrender and he started to loosen his hold on me. Just then, Thomas and Minho entered the Glade. Newt got off me but still kept a close proximity; he didn’t trust me.  
“What’s this?” Minho asked in astonishment. “A new Greenie?”  
Newt nodded. “Pretty much.”  
Thomas walked straight up to me and for a moment there was a slight chance of him remembering me. Even his new name sounded weird in my mind. I saw recognition flash in his eyes then it disappeared as quickly as it came and my heart sunk.  
His eyebrows scrunched up. “What’s your name?”  
“Sanza.” I replied in a light voice, I was afraid that if I spoke louder, they’d notice my voice quiver. The hurt of losing your best friend hit me hard then.  
“Well, Sanza.” Minho said. “You came at a very bad time.”  
“Why? What the hell was going on out there?” Newt asked.  
“Why don’t you tell him, Thomas?” Minho looked at Thomas. But Thomas didn’t look too keen on telling him because he was still trying to catch his breath.  
“We think it could be a way out.” Minho proceeded to say.  
“It’s true.” Thomas agreed.  
“We opened a door. It was something I’ve never seen before.” Minho said between breaths. Both of them seemed extra exhausted. Something big must’ve happened in the Maze. “He thinks it’s where the Grievers go during the day.”  
“Wait! Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Chuck came up to us and spoke. “Are you saying we found the Griever’s hole and you want us to go in?”  
“Their way in could be our way out, Chuck.” Thomas said.  
“Yeah! Or there could be a dozen Grievers on the other side.” Gally cut in. “The truth is, Thomas doesn’t know what he’s done as usual.” His tone was anything but helpful.  
Thomas turned around and faced Gally sharply. “Yeah well at least I did something, Gally! Yeah what have you done, huh? Aside from hiding behind these walls all the time?”  
“Let me tell you something, Greenie.” Gally took a menacing step closer. “You’ve been here three days, alright? I’ve been here three years—”  
“Yeah, you’ve been here three years and you’re still here, Gally!” Thomas pointed out with much intensity. “What does that tell you, man?” he huffed. “I think you need to start doing things a little differently.”  
“Well then you should be in charge—”  
“Hey, hey!” A feminine voice interrupted their argument. Everybody’s heads—including mine—turned to Teresa. “It’s Alby.” As soon as she said those words I could feel everyone hold their breath.  
“He’s awake.”


	4. t w o

I followed them silently into the Med-jack’s shack. It was a dimly lit place; the only light was coming from the spaces between the roughly put together wood boards. Alby sat with his back facing us.

“Has he said anything?” Thomas asked Teresa.

“No.” Teresa answered.

I don’t think she has noticed me. Frankly, I don’t think anyone has at this point. They all had more things to worry about than the Greenie who arrived at a very bad time.

“Alby?” Newt slowly came closer and sat beside Alby. “Alby are you alright?”

Alby didn’t respond so Thomas followed Newt, kneeling on the ground in front of them.  “Hey, Alby? We just found our way out of the Maze, we could be getting out of here.” Thomas tried coaxing Alby.

Alby shook his head. “We can’t.” He said in a broken whisper. “We can’t leave. They won’t let us.”

Thomas’ eyes switched from Newt to Alby. “What are you talking about?”

“I remember.” Alby said, looking at neither of them. Everybody exchanged worried and confused glances.

“What do you remember?” Thomas asked.

Alby unexpectedly turned his body until his bloodshot eyes met mine. “You.”

Everyone took a step away from me as soon as he’d said that. I then moved closer until I was standing right behind a kneeling Thomas. I furrowed my eyebrows. _How much did he remember?_

“And Thomas.” He faced Thomas. “You’re always their favorite, Thomas. Always.”

Some yelling erupted outside and I craned my neck to look between the boards to try and see what was happening.

“Why’d you do this?” Alby asked with his eyes boring into mine, snapping my gaze back to him. “Why’d you come here?”

“I had no choice.” I spoke in monotone.

The yelling got louder and more noticeable, the other Gladers shifted their attention from us to outside. Thomas stood up and held my hand. My heart warmed for a moment, taken aback by the action. He led me outside and the last thing I saw of Alby was him covering his ears with his hands. Thomas and I were the first to see the chaos starting outside. Everyone acted all panicky and worriedly, running around with lighted torches. _What was wrong?_ Then I realized. _It’s happening._

Thomas stopped a Glader who ran by. “ _Winston_ , what’s going on?”

“It’s the doors, they aren’t closing.” His voice was laced with uncertainty and fear.

Thomas looked back at me. “Did you know this was going to happen?”

“No.” I lied. “I don’t know anything.” As bad as I wanted to tell him, I couldn’t.

I knew this was going to happen, I just didn’t expect it to happen this soon.

I watched as a group of Gladers with Winston as a part of it, ran to the entrance of the open door of the Maze. With no clue as what to do, I ran after them, pulling Thomas by the hand as Teresa, Newt, Minho, Gally and _Jeff_ followed. We stopped at the open doors and just stared at it.

The sound of metal moving echoed loudly through the Glade and my hands shot up to protect my ears. That was the least of my worries; the sounds were coming from the door behind us that moved. We all turned around just in time for it to fully open. Another loud sound came from the right of us, then to the left and soon every door leading to the Maze was open. Gladers had grouped together and approached the opened doors with their torches. I wanted to scream and tell them to get as far away from the doors as possible.

I knew what was coming.

And I think Thomas did too because he was ordering Chuck to go back to the Council Hall and barricade the doors.

“Winston, go with him.” Newt added as he caught on. I didn’t know how they managed to function this well, I was scared to death and I felt my blood freeze in my veins.

 “And the others!” Gally hollered. “Tell them to hide in the forest, now!”

“Got it.” Winston nodded and both of them were off, running deeper into the Glade.

“Minho, we need to salvage every weapon we can find.” Thomas said as Minho nodded.

I knew Thomas was doing everything he could to protect the Gladers. But it was too late. I felt the Grievers right outside our doorsteps.

“Thomas!” I pulled his arm and he faced me. “We all need to hide now!”

Right on time, we heard some Gladers scream.

“Grievers!”


	5. t h r e e

Warning bells rang in my ears. _The Grievers were here_. We needed to move right now, but for some reason all of them stood in place, watching in the direction the screams came from. _They’re wasting precious time!_

“Alright everybody hide!” Thomas yelled.

And it was like every single one of us had the same thought, we ran as fast as we could away from the doors. Before I ran, I took one last glance at the opening in front of us. I stopped when I found what I was looking for. A Griever had just appeared down the corridor of the Maze.

“Sanza!”

I turned and ran as fast as I could, following Thomas and the others. The closest cover we had was the cornfields. I mindlessly dashed in, it was getting darker and I was starting to not see a thing. We all crouched in a small circle. Newt was right next to me and I gripped his shoulder for comfort as the pained screams of some Gladers that were taken by the Grievers started to fill the air. A scream sounded from our left. I looked above us just in time for a Griever’s arm to come crashing down on the boy directly in front of me.

“ _Zart_!” Thomas screamed and reached out for him. But he was too late. The Griever had already gotten Zart.

“Run!”

We all scrambled in different directions. I saw Gally and three others open the Box and climb in. I was tempted to follow them but they were just too far away. It was too risky.

“This way!” Newt pulled me. “To the Med-jacks!”

I ran and followed him into the small shack where Thomas was helping Alby up and out of there. We looked behind us and a few feet away, we saw a Griever stab a boy to death, his screams drowned in his blood.

“Move!” I shouted. “We have to keep moving!”

Then I ran forward, exiting the shack and leaving others to follow. I ran deeper into the forest but a Griever came stumbling in our path. I had no weapons so I stepped back in alarm albeit I knew that WICKED wasn’t going to let the Griever harm me. But that wasn’t always certain. Teresa took a gas lamp and threw it at the Griever. It exploded in glass shards and fire. It bought us time to redirect our route and find a safer path and we continued running.

“Keep moving!” Thomas yelled after I heard a Griever take a boy behind me.

I realized where we were heading to and I pushed myself further. Alby suddenly collapsed in front of me and I almost tripped over him.

“Alby!” Thomas and others helped him up. A Griever finally caught us and lunged at us but a spear was launched through its head. I looked in the direction it was from and found _Frypan_ ’s group with weapons and spears. I silently thanked them as we ran into the Council Hall.

We locked all the doors and windows once everyone got inside. I ushered them to the farthest corner of the hall. I could hear the Griever’s legs hit the wood outside. _This place wasn’t going to hold for long_. It was an agonizing wait. I heard a crashing sound but nothing fell apart. A Griever had jumped on the roof.

“Stay back, guys.” Newt ordered, standing next to me as I was the farthest away from the huddled group and I was the least safe.

I could hear the heavy mechanical steps it made as it stomped on the roof. And then it started to tear the building apart. Our huddled group broke apart in a screaming frenzy. Wood fell everywhere and I lost Thomas. I heard another boy being taken from my right and I instantly dashed left, where Minho, Chuck and Newt was. Thomas was there too. He grabbed my shirt and helped me up.

A Griever arm burst through the wall and grabbed Chuck.

“Chuck!” We all screamed.

Thomas was fast and caught him before the Griever could take him outside. I held on to Thomas’s body as Newt held on to mine; we were pulling with all our might.

“Don’t let go! Don’t let go!” Thomas pulled vigorously as I tried to do the same.

Suddenly Alby screamed and hacked at the arm with a machete. The arm withdrew as Alby broke it apart and it let go of Chuck. By the end of it, I was panting and out of breath.

“Chuck, you okay?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He answered in short breaths. It was exhausting for us all.

“Thanks, Alby.” He said.

“Alby look out!” Thomas only had time to scream before another arm broke through the wall and wrapped around Alby. I was the closest to him so I quickly dived and secured both my arms around him. I pulled him back with all the strength I had left but it wasn’t working by a long shot.

“Sanza, you and Thomas need to get them out.” Alby said, he looked pained as he did so and my grip faltered. I nodded.

Somebody ripped my arms from their grasp and Alby disappeared outside.

“No!” I screamed and thrashed. “Alby!”

“Stop it.” Newt shook me as Thomas held my hands behind my back. “We can’t lose you both.” I stopped and wiped away the tears I didn’t know I cried.

“Thomas we gotta get out!” I ran outside of the trashed Council Hall.

The Glade was a mixture of flames, blood, smoke and screams. We all just stared in horror at the scene. There was honestly nothing more we could do.

“Where is everybody?” Chuck asked.

“Over there.” Thomas pointed. And out of the smoke I saw bodies emerge. A wave of relief hit me as I saw that not everybody was killed. As the group came closer I realized that part of it was Gally.

He walked to Thomas and straight up punched him in the face. Thomas staggered backward, clutching his jaw. The remaining Gladers immediately held Gally back as he fought against them.

“You heard what Alby said!” He spat. “He’s one of them!”

“One of who?”

“The ones who sent us here!” Gally said. “He was sent here to ruin everything and now he has!” Shouts and arguments rose from the group of boys.

I saw something reflect light from the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw Thomas snatching the Griever’s sting out of Chuck’s hand, a look of concentration was in his eyes.

“Maybe he’s right.” He said in a dazed voice, looking at me.

“Thomas…” Teresa noticed.

“Thomas, don’t do it.” I warned him.

“I need to remember, Sanza.”

“Thomas, no!” I screamed as he stabbed himself with the sting. He groaned as he fell to the ground. I immediately crouched down next to him. “Chuck! Get the other syringe now!” I yelled too loudly for the situation. I couldn’t help it, I can’t risk losing Thomas.

“It’s okay.” Teresa put a hand on my shoulder. “He’s going to be okay.”

“Alright, now put him in the Pit!” Gally ordered. “And throw these two along with him.” He pointed at me and Teresa.

At first, Minho, Newt and the others were hesitant to move, looking amongst themselves.

“You either do it or be thrown in the pit with them.” Gally threatened.

It was obvious they took his side. I actually expected more fight from them but I figured they must have a plan. Chuck came back with the syringe and I wasted no time in injecting Thomas with the serum before Newt came and bound my wrists behind me. He led me towards the makeshift detention cell called the Pit and dropped me and Teresa in. Thomas was added soon after. Teresa and I hauled him on top of a makeshift bed.

As soon as they locked us in and left, I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I intensely studied the interior of the place to find if there were any weak points or broken wood we could use to get us out of here. It wasn’t long before my eyes met Teresa, who seemed like she was also studying me intently.

“Teresa, do you remember me?” I asked.

She stared for a few moments and looked at the floor. “No.” She shook her head. “But I feel like I should.”

I nodded and looked at Thomas. When I said he had to get his memories back, I didn’t mean it like this. I never wanted to see him in any pain.

“You remember, don’t you?” Teresa spoke in a lower tone. “You’re with the people that sent us down here.”

“It doesn’t matter what I am.” I responded, sitting on the ground beside Thomas. I brushed some hair that fell across his forehead. “I just need to get you guys out.”

“How are you going to do that?” she asked, settling on the other side of Thomas.

“We’ll see when he wakes up.” I said before making myself comfortable on the dirt.

I knew she wanted to ask more questions but I was thankful when she didn’t say another word.


	6. f o u r

I stood over Thomas’ still unconscious body. I had just woken up and I found myself eager to get out of this pit. I heard voices coming from outside. I recognized it as Newt, Minho and Chuck.

“Why’d you put us in here?” I turned to them. “You guys know better than to follow what Gally says.”

“Whoa there, we don’t even know if we can trust you.” Newt said. “I don’t think it’s in your place to tell us what we should be doing.”

“Regardless!” I pursed my lips and sighed. _I knew this was bound to happen._

“Thomas?” Teresa said, drawing my attention back to Thomas. His eyes fluttered open and he just stared at the ceiling for a moment. If the changing worked right on him then he had remembered whatever they had allowed him to but I knew how it worked. His memories will fade soon. And I’m not even sure WICKED gave him the right ones.

“Thomas, are you okay?” I gently asked.

He sat up slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. “Sanza.” He leaned forward and hugged me, taking me by surprise. “How could I have ever forgotten you?”

I hugged him back. “It’s not your fault, Tommy.” My eyes teared up at the possibility that I might get my best friend back but I still knew it was too early to tell.

“Wait, who the hell is she?” Minho cut in, eyes switching from me to Thomas.

“I’m not sure, really.” Thomas broke our embrace and I held my breath. “But I know she’s important to me.” He gave me a small smile.

“Well then…” Minho raised his eyebrows at me. “Welcome to the family…?” he added sarcastically.

I snorted. “Thanks.”

“Why the hell would you do that?” Chuck asked Thomas in a demanding tone as he stood by the door, averting all attention to him.

“What happened?” Thomas asked.

“Gally’s taken control.” Newt answered bitterly. “He said we had a choice, either join him or get banished at sundown with you.”

 _So that’s why_.

“And the others agreed to that?” Thomas sighed.

“Gally has everyone convinced that you’re the reason why all of this has happened.” Teresa explained.

Thomas’s eyes stayed on me. “Well, he’s been right so far.”

Minho tilted his head side wards. “What are you talking about?”

“This place,” Thomas started. “Is not what we thought it was. It’s not a prison, it’s a test. It all started when we were kids, they’d give us these challenges. They were experimenting on us.” He looked up. “And then people started disappearing, one after the other like clockwork.”

“They sent them up into the Maze.” Newt confirmed.

I stayed silent the whole time.

“Yeah but not all of us.” Thomas partly agreed.

“What’d you mean?” Newt asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“I’m one of them.” He declared. “The people who put you here, I worked with them. I’ve been watching you guys for years, the entire time you’ve been here, I was on the other side of it.”

“I saw you.” He said to Teresa.

“What?” She looked like she didn’t believe it.

“Teresa we did this to them.” His eyes motioned to the three Gladers outside.

“No.” She shook her head; tears had started to well up in her eyes. “It can’t be true.”

“It is.”

“But you didn’t do anything, Sanza.” Thomas said to me. “I don’t understand why they put you here.”

 “I don’t either.” I uttered softly, with a hint of bitterness in my voice. “WICKED is good.”

Just as I’d guessed, WICKED altered his memories and I had to keep lying to cope with it.

“I just have one question,” Teresa’s tear filled eyes met mine.

“What is it?” I asked.

“How did you know about the Grief serum?”

I froze. “What?”

“Last night you ordered Chuck to retrieve it.” She explained with a tone I couldn’t decipher. “How’d you know about it?”

I avoided her eyes and stared at the ground. “I just knew.”

“How?” she asked further.

“It doesn’t matter.” Thomas dismissed her.

“He’s right.” Newt agreed. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Any of it.” He shook his head. “Because the people we were before the Maze, they don’t even exist anymore. These Creators took care of that.”

“No, it does.” I disproved. “I know how to get you guys out of here. I can be your way out.”

Their faces held mixed emotions.

“And what also matters is who we are now and what we do right now.” Newt focused on Thomas. “You went into the Maze and found a way out.”

“And if I had, Alby would still be alive.” Thomas contradicts.

“Maybe.” Newt’s voice cracked, as if he was hit by hurt. “But if he were here, he’d be telling you the exact same thing. _Pick your ass up and finish what you’ve started_. Because if we do nothing, it means that Alby died for nothing and I can’t have that.”

We all looked at each other.

“Okay.” Thomas complied.

“It’s not just me, Thomas, we need everyone too.” I said. “We can do this but we have to get through Gally first.”

I think it was just after lunch when Gally and his cronies yanked us out of the Pit. Thomas acted unconscious as they did so. They dragged us to the entrance of a door. Thomas was thrown on the ground as Teresa was tied to a pole; I however, remained restricted in Newt’s hold.

“This is such a waste.” Gally said sorrowfully. “Tie them up!” He bellowed but no one moved.

“Gally,” Winston spoke. “This doesn’t feel right, man.”

“Yeah,” Jeff agreed. “What if they found a way out?”

“I said tie them up!” He ignored their protests.

I took this as my queue and snatched a machete off of Newt’s pocket as he let go of me. I bashed the blunt end of it at some boy’s head because he tried to stop me. Frypan freed Teresa from the pole and Minho held a big knife over Gally’s throat, daring him to make a move. Now the tables have turned. I took steps back and stood beside Thomas who was pointing a spear at Gally. We all stood at the entrance of the Maze, with our weapons aimed at them.

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” Gally spat.

“You don’t have to come with us but we are leaving.” I said, looking at Gally.

“Everyone else who wants to come, now is your last chance!” Thomas called out.

Gally looked back at the remaining Gladers. “Don’t listen to them they’re just trying to scare you.”

“We’re not trying to scare you, you’re already scared, alright?” I said, somewhat pissed. “I’m scared, Thomas is scared.  We’re all scared.”

“But I’d rather risk my life out there than spend the rest of it in here.” Thomas said with finality. And I knew then that truer words were never spoken. The Gladers looked among themselves. “We don’t belong here.” Thomas continued. “This place isn’t our home, we were put here. And we are trapped here. At least out there we have a choice.”

“We can make it out of here.” He said. “We can do this because we have her.”  Everybody’s eyes focused on me and I nodded at them, I couldn’t say anything else because Thomas already took the words from my mouth. In seconds, Gladers stepped forward and joined our little group. I was touched by the fact that they had only known me for roughly twenty-four hours yet they trusted me with their lives. All the more reason I had to be extra careful.

“Gally, it’s over.” Thomas said once only a few Gladers stood beside Gally. “You should come with us.”

I honestly don’t know why Thomas was trying. It was no use, even if Gally wanted to come, WICKED would never let him. I knew it.

“Good luck against the Grievers.” Gally finally said with a nod. He made his decision and he had sealed his fate.

I turned around as soon as he said that and ran straight into the Maze. The others followed immediately. Minho ran alongside me as I turned through hallway after hallway almost expertly.

“How do you know where to go?” He inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Stop talking, you’re wasting energy.” I ignored his question. “I’ll run behind the group to make sure nobody gets lost. You lead.”

I slowed down as everybody ran before me. Everything was going smoothly until we heard the loud rumble of concrete, like falling boulders. Minho stopped the group and I ran forward to the front again.

“Is the Maze changing?” Minho looked around.

I looked up and the tops of the walls were falling apart slowly. “No they’re not!” I screamed. “Everybody run!” I urged them forth. I fell behind again, watching everybody carefully as they ran through falling rocks.

At first, a pebble landed in front of me, then a stone, then a rock, and then a boulder the size of a person fell, sending me stumbling backwards. I regained my balance just in time so see what seemed like the whole Maze cave in around me. Debris of every size were falling everywhere. A rock the size of a fist came hurling towards me from my right. I didn’t have enough time to dodge it and it collided with my head, knocking me to the ground.

My vision started to blur and red filled my eyesight. The metallic smell of blood filled my nostrils and I immediately knew that my head was bleeding badly. I cough out as pieces of the Maze walls continued pouring over me like rain in a storm. I ran—well stumbled—through the mess as the walls fell closer and closer and my definite fate became apparent.

Someone pulled me harshly from the darkness of the falling walls’ shadows. I found myself become more disorientated than I already was, clutching to whoever yanked me out of my certain death. But my rescuer didn’t stop. I felt myself getting hauled off the ground and into strong arms. I tried to look up and see who saved me but all I could see was my own blood blocking my vision.

I felt like falling asleep but I couldn’t afford that. I forced myself to be conscious though my head felt like it weighed a ton. I fluttered my eyes open and groaned because the movement caused searing pain to shoot through my head.

“Newt?” I squinted my eyes as I saw blonde hair and brown eyes.

“It’s me,” He said as my vision started to clear more.  

“Thank you.” I smiled but it came out more like a grimace because of the pain.

Newt nodded and returned my smile. “You’re welcome,”

I noticed that everyone had stopped for a moment and numerous faces hovered over mine. I forced my body to stand and they all reached out towards me like I was going to collapse any second. But I knew my body’s limits; the pain hasn’t hit me on full force yet because of my adrenaline. We needed to keep moving in order for my adrenaline to keep going.

“We need to keep going.” I panted as I wiped the side of my face that was covered in blood mixed with sweat, it wasn’t pleasant.

They all looked at me like I was mental but agreed and moved anyways, this time I was running beside Thomas and Minho. We kept running all the way to section 7.

On the last turn, I ordered them to slow down and stick to the wall. “Thomas, check for Grievers.”

He went and poked his head around the corner. His body language gave it away, I just didn’t know how many.

“Is it a Griever?” Chuck spoke in a hushed tone.

Thomas didn’t answer but we all knew it by now. I could smell their fear fill the air and I bet the Griever could too.

Minho handed the Griever’s heart to Chuck. “You should take this, Chuck. Stay behind us.”

“It’s okay,” Teresa must’ve noticed the poor boy was close to shitting his pants.  “You’re still with me.” She was tying her hair up. I put a hand on Chuck’s shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. He returned it with an uneasy one.

“With the heart, it’ll activate and the door will open.” Thomas looked at each and every one of us as he said it. “We stay close, we stick together, we get out now or die trying.”

“Ready?” Everybody nodded in agreement. We all took out weapons back out. I gripped the machete tightly in my hands.

“Let’s go!” Thomas screamed. Soon shouts and battle calls broke out, rising in volume, filling the air like thunder. I found myself shouting as well.

We ran down the small bridge that lead deeper into section 7 and our way out. Thank God it was only one Griever. We all hit it with full force, stabbing it with our spears and hitting it with knives as it struggled to fight us. An arm reached a boy and threw him over the platform and into the nothingness below. I made a mental note to be careful about that. Teresa was hitting the Griever then the heart was accidentally flung away from her and to the edge of the platform with Chuck chasing after it.

“Chuck!” I yelled, abandoning my position and chasing after the boy. The heart was rolling dangerously close to the edge. He dived to catch it before it fell and I dived to catch him before he fell.

“Oh no.” He said and it didn’t sound good.

“Hold on, Chuck!” I grunted as I struggled to pull him up.

“Pull me up! Pull me up!” He yelled frantically as Teresa held on to me and helped me pull Chuck up to safety. We dusted ourselves off and I hugged Chuck. He seemed to be grateful for it.

“Thanks.” I said to Teresa who smiled and nodded.

I noticed the boys just pushed the Griever over the edge. But just as quick as it fell, more Grievers began to appear from all sides and Teresa screamed, she ran with Chuck into the Griever hole entrance. Chuck raised the heart near it and the wall lifted, we ran straight inside as the boys kept fighting off the Grievers. It was dark and I couldn’t see a thing but I knew what to do.

“Teresa!” I called. “Over here!” The fight was getting intense outside and I felt scared and nervous beyond belief. I touched the wall and a number wheel glowed in red. It was like a dial. I needed the numbers and Teresa knew it too.

“Thomas! We need eight numbers!” She yelled.

“What?”

“Minho, we need the sequence!” I ran over to Minho who was preoccupied with a Griever.

“What?” he asked, still busy on the Griever.

“The Maze!” I yelled. “What’s the sequence?!” This was heartbreaking for me because I memorized the numbers but they had to be the one to realize it was the code, I couldn’t do it myself no matter how much we all needed it.

“Seven! One! Five! Two! Six! Four—” I furiously typed the numbers in the dial.

“Look out!” a Griever dropped in front of Minho.

“Minho!”

He struggled under the weight of the mechanical beast. I was tempted to punch in the remaining numbers but I had trust in him. He was going to win. I just knew it. And he did, he rolled over the Griever and somehow managed to get up.

“Eight! Three!”

I finished and the red glow turned green. They boys started retreating deeper into the hole as the Grievers pushed them. The walls started to close back, crushing the Grievers on their pursuit. One almost got to us but Thomas flung a spear at it and it slowed, as soon as it did a wall closed on it, crushing the Griever.


	7. f i v e

For a moment, only our heavy breathing filled the air. Then a door behind us opened with a hiss. They looked at it wearily but I knew it was safe. We were safe. I was safe. I made it.

I almost sighed in relief but something didn’t quite feel right, heavy apprehension hung in the air like a dark smog so I held my breath and pushed the metal door to open wider, it creaked as it went.

We were in the underground passages along the perimeter of the Maze and part of the WICKED institution. I’ve only been here once before but once was enough to know where this led to. The hallway’s lights lit up one by one, illuminating the passage.

We walked slowly. Too slowly for my liking but I figured if I ran ahead of them they’d know that something was up with me. Maybe they already knew but kept their mouths shut because I was helping them.  We found another metal door that had a green light lit up beside it. It also had and ‘ _EXIT_ ’ sign above it that glowed. I almost laughed at WICKED’s morbid humor.

“Seriously?” Frypan scoffed as he saw it.

As I got closer to the door I heard the warning sirens had gone off. Something was wrong. I pushed it open and I silently gasped as my eyes met the sight. Dead employees lined the hallway. _What the hell was going on?_ I examined them closely and saw gunshot wounds.

_Gunshot wounds?_

We kept walking through, bullet shells were scattered all across the floor. It seemed like there was a shootout of some sorts. It didn’t add up.

“What happened here?” Thomas asked, expecting me to have an answer.

“I don’t know,” I advanced slowly into the next room. It was one of the many rooms they had for observing but this one wasn’t where the main observation happened.

 Broken glass, broken screens and more dead bodies, I knew some faces but there wasn’t anyone in particular I recognized. The whole place was trashed but there were some screens that were still functioning. I was afraid of what they were showing and how the Gladers would react to it.

Some screens were showing the scan of their brains, others showed the data and responses and others showed videos from the Glade.

“So they were watching us.” Newt stated in realization. “This whole time.”

I felt Thomas and Teresa have a sense of déjà vu as they explored the area. I went to one of the larger screens that were still functioning. A button was glowing, indicating it had a message of some sort. Thomas came beside me and touched the screen before I could and it activated.

Suddenly I could see my mother on the screen.

“Hello, my name is Ava Paige. I’m the director of the World Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department.”

We all inched closer. She looked like she aged a decade since the last time I saw her.

“If you’re watching this it means that you have successfully completed the Maze Trials. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you.”

What does she mean? Did she leave? Without me?

I inhaled the air of apprehension.

“But circumstances seemed to have prevented it.” She said in a grave tone. “I’m sure by now you must all be very confused, angry, frightened…I can only assure you that everything that has happened to you, everything we have done to you, it was all done for a reason.”

“You won’t remember,” She continued. “But the sun has scorched our world.” The air suddenly grew even thicker and tears pricked at my eyes, it was a painful reminder. The others didn’t seem to notice my discomfort and I was a bit relieved for it.

“Billions of lives lost to fire, to famine. Suffering on a global scale.” The screen showed clips of the sun flares and my tears almost fell. “The fallout was unimaginable.”

“What came after was worse.”  _No. Oh no. Please no._ I internally begged her to stop but she didn’t. “We called it the _Flare_.”

I moved closer to Thomas and held his hand. He looked at me for a second and gave my hand a comforting squeeze.

“A deadly virus that attacks the brain.” Videos of it flashed through the screen. “It is violent, unpredictable, incurable.” They showed a Crank’s brain being dissected and I closed my eyes and buried my head in Thomas’ shoulder. I couldn’t take it.

“Or so we thought.” Her tone shifted. “In time, a new generation emerged that could survive the virus. Suddenly, there was a reason to hope for a cure but finding it would not be easy.” She pointed out.

My eyes found the screen once again but I didn’t think they were ready to hear this.

“The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed inside harsh environments where their brain activity could be studied. All in an effort to understand what makes them different.”

“What makes you different.”

“You may not realize it, but you’re very important.” It seemed like she was talking to me now.

“Unfortunately your trials have just begun as you will soon discover.” I didn’t like where she was going. She never told me about this. “But not everyone agrees with our methods, progress is slow. People are scared.” And in that moment her face showed she truly was.

“ _It may be too late for us, for me, but not for you_. The outside world awaits. Remember,” She pulled out something from her white lab coat pocket. It was a gun. She held it to her head and I felt my heart constrict in my chest. I noticed some armed men in black behind her were shooting workers left and right. _Who were those people?_

“WICKED is good.” She pulled the trigger.

 Thomas instantly looked away but I just stared blankly at the screen, watching her fall out of view. I felt Thomas suddenly stiffen and I followed his gaze and saw my mother’s body. We all walked closer to it. However, I didn’t feel like she was dead because I didn’t feel the pain slowly creep up and consume my existence. I didn’t feel anything.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. After I got them out, I was told that I could go back to a _‘normal’_ life, now that they’d have a cure. WICKED never really told me what would happen to the Gladers after and I also didn’t want to know. But then I guess now neither of us had the upper hand, I was just as lost as they were. And I felt horrible.

The gate to the outside opened, diverting our attention. I felt my stomach tie into knots as I knew what we have to do next. We’d have to go into the outside world.

“Is it over?” Chuck asked.

“She said we were important.” Newt spoke aloud. “What are we supposed to do now?”

We all looked at Thomas and Thomas stared at me. “I don’t know.” He whispered. “But let’s get out of here.”

I took a step forward.

“No.” A voice stopped us.

I didn’t believe it. It was Gally but he didn’t look quite himself. He looked considerably paler, and dark veins crawled up his arms and neck.

“Gally?” Thomas moved closer but I put a hand on his chest to stop him.

“Don’t,” I told him. “He’s been stung.”

Gally held a sting in one hand and then dropped it to the ground and he had a gun in the other. “We can’t leave.” His whole body shook uncontrollably, like it wasn’t him in control of it. This irked my suspicions and I furrowed my eyebrows.

“We did, Gally, we’re out.” Thomas said cautiously. “We’re free.” _Wrong word, Thomas._

“Free?” Gally scoffed. “You think we’re free out there?” He demanded. “No. There’s no escape from this place.” He raised the gun towards Thomas and my eyes widened.

“Gally please listen to me.” Thomas pleaded with his hands in front of him, not like doing that would amount to anything. “You’re not thinking straight. Relax, we can help you. Just put down the gun.”

“I belong in the Maze.”

“Just put down the gun.” Thomas repeated.

“We all do.” Gally pulled the trigger and I pushed Thomas away with all the strength left in my body. It all happened so fast and the next thing I knew, Minho had driven a spear through Gally’s torso and now he was on his knees. He collapsed on the ground with a thud. I quickly helped Thomas up from the ground.

“Thomas,” Chuck said in a frail voice. I knew it even before the red stain on his left chest became apparent. He was a goner.

“Chuck!” I shrieked as his body fell but Thomas caught him before he could hit the ground. In all the chaos, I didn’t notice Chuck jumped in front of Thomas, taking the bullet for him.

“Shit. Shit.” Thomas uttered in a shaky voice as he held Chuck. “Look at me, look at me. Oh, shit. Chuck, don’t leave me alright?”

I crouched down next to them. Now the pain came crashing like in violent waves, flooding my system and leaving me breathless as my tears came flowing freely. But I knew I could do nothing now.

“Thomas,” Chuck gripped his shoulder and held up a tiny wooden doll; it was already drenched in his own blood.

“No, no, Chuck.” Thomas refused. “You’re gonna give it to them yourself, I told you that.”

“Thank you.” Chuck said in his last few breaths. “Thank you.”

He was gone.

“Chuck?” Thomas cried. “Chuck? Hey! Hey Chuck, come on! Come on, wake up.” He desperately pleaded. He hugged Chuck to his chest, squeezed him as tightly as possible, as if that could somehow bring him back.

My heart wrenched in my chest at the sight. Chuck didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve any of this.

And the worst part was I knew this was going to happen.


	8. s i x

the scientist // coldplay

 

The door leading to the outside burst open. My head snapped in that direction but I wished it hadn’t because blinding light shone through the exit, hurting my eyes. I saw black silhouettes of men armed with guns and for some reason that didn’t cause me any fear at all, if anything, it caused comfort.

Thomas’s cries were drowned out by their heavy footsteps. The armed men got to us in no time, they ushered us hurriedly out of there, one man harshly pulled me off the ground and I didn’t protest. They seemed to know what they were doing.

Thomas was a different story.

“Chuck!” His cries bounced off the walls of the short hallway leading outside. I was being guided through it but I purposely slowed my pace. Thomas didn’t want to leave Chuck’s body but these men had other plans. Two of them lifted Thomas off of Chuck, he fought against them but it was no use. The man guiding me pushed me a little, as if to say that I needed to hurry up. I stopped looking at Thomas and concentrated on where we were heading.

Once my feet touched the dry dirt, the intense heat hit me like ton of bricks. It was like running through a preheated oven but I couldn’t complain, I’ve experienced worse and now wasn’t the time for thinking about it.

Thomas had stopped fighting and now was also running. I slowed down so he could catch up. I held his hand and sprinted to the helicopter that was waiting. The others were already inside and they helped us get on. The helicopter’s door closed shut.

“You guys alright?” A man asked through the noise of the propellers. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”

I sat up between Newt and Thomas as we lifted off. Everyone suddenly looked over the window to our side and I followed. It showed the Maze. I could only imagine how they felt after being locked in there for three years and now they were looking down at their prison.

“You’re rescued.” The man spoke again. “Everything’s gonna change.”

Beside me was Newt with a mix of emotions on his face. Mostly relief, some pain and some confusion. I had never seen someone so strong yet looked broken and lost.

“Newt?” I said and his slightly bloodshot eyes met mine. “Thank you for everything.”

He gave me a half smile that showed me more things than he let on. “You’re welcome.”

My adrenaline was fading and I found my head spinning faster than the helicopter’s propellers. It hurt so much. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.


	9. s e v e n

About two hours later the helicopter landed in a clearing surrounding a nondescript building with several rows of windows. The man and other rescuers shuffled us through the front door and up a flight of stairs, then into a huge dormitory with a series of bunk beds lined up along one of the walls. On the opposite side were some dressers and tables. Curtain-covered windows checkered each wall of the room. They all looked at it with distant and muted wonder while I questioned everything in my head. The place was full of color. Bright yellow paint, red blankets, green curtains. The sense of normalcy was too overwhelming. Too good to be true. I was uncertain of all of it.

“I’ve been shucked and gone to heaven.” Minho said upon entering. A staff of nine or ten men and women greeted us there, dressed in normal clothing. Their faces were smiling.

However if they found joy in all of it, I didn’t. There was feeling at the bottom of my gut that just wouldn’t go away. I tried convincing myself that this was it. It was over. But a silver of doubt hung over my head like a gloomy rainbow in a sky of thoughts.

Beds were assigned, clothes and bathroom things were passed out, my head was bandaged up and I was given some medicine. And then dinner was served. Pizza. Real, bona fide, greasy-fingers pizza. I devoured each bite, hunger trumping everything else, the mood of contentment and relief around me was palpable. Most of the Gladers had remained quiet through it all; perhaps worried that speaking would make everything vanish. But there were plenty of smiles. It was almost unsettling to see happy faces after all we’ve been through.

Soon after eating, no one argued when they told us it was time for bed.

Despite all the distrust I held in this situation. I couldn’t say no. I felt as if I could sleep for a month. 

The staff put me and Teresa in a separate room before I could even bid Thomas and the Gladers goodnight. It made the queasy feeling rise inside of me. I didn’t like being away from Thomas and the other Gladers. They’ve been more as a home to me in the three days I got to know them than in the fifteen years I’ve lived with what’s left of my family.

“I call dibs on the top bunk.” Teresa said as soon as we were left alone in our room.

I smiled. “Go ahead,” She climbed up on top and I made myself comfortable on the bottom.

“Hey, Teresa,” I said from below.

“Yeah?” Teresa sounded so tired the word was barely heard.

“I don’t trust any of this,” I said. “It just doesn’t feel right. Do you think we’re safe with these people?”

Teresa seemed to be pondering the answer for a while, and then she answered. “Yeah, I think we’re safe.”

I let silence take over our short conversation. Then the tears came. One trickled down my left temple, into my hair. A full minute of tears passed before I pulled myself together and stopped. I rolled over and I was glad that it was only me and Teresa in the room so that no one else could see the pained expression that had settled across my face. And for a moment, the uneasy feeling almost left my gut. Almost.

And for now, almost was good enough.


	10. e p i l o g u e

“Well,” The woman started as she walked to the front of the table, wiping her head and erasing the red stains of fake blood.

“I think it’s safe to say that the Maze trials were a complete success.” She took her white lab coat off. “I wasn’t expecting so many survivors but the more the merrier. Thomas continues to surprise and impress. But for now, they seemed to have taken the bait, “

“What about your daughter?” One of the world leaders that was seated at the long table interrupted.

“She belongs to the Trials now. It’s her choice whether she’ll remain a variable or join the rest as a part of the experiment.” The Chancellor cleared her throat to hide the hurt in her voice at the reminder.

“Will she be eliminated?” Another leader asked.

“No,” she replied instantly. “She may be beyond our control and her responses might be unexpected but I can’t afford to lose her. It’s too soon to say but she and Thomas could be the key to everything. So let’s move forward.” She raised her chin and a small hopeful smile made its way into her features.

“It’s time to begin Phase Two.”


	11. end note.

First, thank you all for reading my story until the end. I appreciate the fact that you had to undergo mass confusion just to get to an improper ending. As this is the first book I have ever finished writing(on here and Wattpad), it came out better than I’d expected but it was still confusing and I hope I am able to clear some things up for you.

I know that some of you may have questions for me about the story and you are free to comment these questions below. I will try to answer them the best I can and I promise that I will not make it confusing.

There’s a sequel called The New Distance and it’s based on the book but it is published on Wattpad. (I’m trying to write another based on the movie and publish it here.) I’d advise you to read it to become less confused.

Thank you again,

_Rona Felix_


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